AN: Hello everyone, I didn't think about leaving an AN before because I didn't think people would actually read my story, but since there's been a few follows / reads and stuff do feel free to let me know what you guys think by leaving a review or something :P Thank you for reading!
"Where is this?" Zoro grumbled as he looked at his surroundings. He had somehow ended up on the far end of the ship at the side of a huge fancy cabin. Fancy was clearly an understatement though; the wooden doors were painted white and had decorative figures intricately carved into the vibrant gold and navy-blue frame. If this was any other ship it would be as if it was asking to be robbed, Zoro thought to himself. He brushed the thought aside and turned towards the deck.
There were a couple of Marines stationed around the deck, though it seemed like there were fewer Marines than there ought to be… He turned his eye towards the second floor across the deck where quiet chatter and laughing sounds came from another brightly lit cabin. Zoro could just about make out the silhouettes of Marines having their dinner – no wonder.
Before he could even think about where to start looking for his comrades, a loud condescending voice sounded from the cabin right beside him. The swordsman quickly ducked further behind the wall as the polished white doors opened.
"Guh, you Marines are all so repugnant, get out of my sight so that I can cross the deck in peace," the owner of the voice said with clear disdain.
"My apologies Aecus-sama, please do wait a moment," another frantic voice replied.
Zoro peered out from behind the wall, his one eye narrowing at what he saw. He'd recognize that stupid outfit anywhere. The long white robes, ridiculous looking helmet and that obnoxious hair curl that was styled upwards. It was the Tenryuubito. He was a stick thin dark-haired man, with eyebrows so thin that they were barely visible. Sandwiched between two bulky guards, he talked down scornfully to another man that seemed to be the one in charge of the ship.
Looks like Franky was right about the World Noble, Zoro thought to himself as he watched the captain quickly herding away all the Marines on deck into the dining hall or elsewhere out of sight. After a few hushed orders and another hasty apology from the captain to the Tenryuubito, the whole ship fell silent.
"Guh, I can't believe I'm stuck on this ghastly ship with a bunch of sweaty Marines," the Tenryuubito grumbled to himself as he beckoned to one of his guards and pointed towards the floor. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the guard went down on all fours and the thin man clambered onto his back. Once secured, the World Noble clapped his hands once and the guard rose from the floor, crawling out of the room. Zoro gritted his teeth in disgust. What a bastard, he wouldn't even walk on the same floor the Marines walked on.
The Tenryuubito took his time to cross the deck. Meanwhile, a door on the highest level of the opposite cabin opened and a small group of uniformed maids and butlers gathered outside in a horizontal line to await his arrival. To the swordsman, it just seemed ridiculous that such a mediocre act of moving from one end of the ship to the other required so much effort and wasted time, but he had no choice but to sit quietly and wait.
Once the Tenryuubito had finally been received in the most grandiose way possible and disappeared into the room, Zoro realized that he was alone on the deck. He glanced at the cabin he was standing next to. This was obviously the Tenryuubito's room. And there might be a staircase inside it (he completely missed the staircase that was literally right below him if he had just looked towards the front). Besides, seeing how convenient the World Noble had made it for him by making the Marines leave their post, it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.
Back downstairs, the original group of four had gathered up again at the bottom of said staircase that Zoro had missed.
"Woah! With this amount of food, we would definitely be able to make it to Wano!" Bepo exclaimed softly as he excitedly eyed up the two sacks of food that the Strawhats had brought with them. He licked his lips and swallowed the saliva that was already pooling in his mouth in anticipation.
"Good work, Nose-ya, Nico-ya," Law nodded in approval before glancing at the top of the staircase. Things had become strangely quiet outside whilst they were gone. Did the Marines notice them? That couldn't be, if they had noticed them they would be swarming them in numbers by now. If his deduction was right and this was really a Tenryuubito's ship, they wouldn't need to wait and quietly lay a trap of some sort since they already had such a huge advantage.
"Of course! The great Usopp-sama never disappoints!" Usopp grinned as he rubbed the area under his nose smugly with his index finger. "Though we should quickly get out of here, it seems like the person in charge might be dangerous," he added hastily, dropping his confident demeanor.
"Naturally," Law replied coolly. He decided that they were probably still undetected and the cause of silence might be due to the rest of the Marines having headed for dinner. The dark-haired man made his way towards the room where the strange girl was being kept and shot them a placid glance, "this is a Tenryuubito's ship after all."
"Yeah yeah, a Ten- Wait what?" Usopp almost yelled but not before he forcefully slapped his own hands to his mouth. His eyes darted towards the entrance of the staircase in fear that someone might've heard him.
"This happens to be the ship of a Tenryuubito," the captain of the heart pirates continued, seemingly unconcerned. "There were a couple of eternal poses in the navigation room that led to Mariejois and a few other indicators."
After finding a map of the ship's layout in the navigation room as well, it was pretty self-evident that this was a World Noble's ship. There were several rooms onboard that were solely dedicated to just host Tenryuubitos and Tenryuubitos only. The figurehead design of an animal head on top of a silver plaque was also unmistakably a Tenryuubito's crest. The entire ship was swathed in the colors blue and gold and the mark on the sails which they thought was the Marine's symbol at first was actually the World Government's insignia. This was obviously not an ordinary ship.
Usopp had to take deep breaths to stop himself from collapsing onto the floor in an anxious fit. If they were caught here they would be at the mercy of a Marine Admiral. And although they had trained very hard for the past two years and he was sure that everyone had improved in their own right, the only one here that could be on par with a Marine Admiral was Zoro… He paused for a bit. Maybe Law as well. But still, he didn't know how the other was staying so calm without freaking out.
"Room," the aforementioned still totally unruffled captain raised his hand palm upwards as a blue light formed and swirled around in his palm. "Shambles."
"W-what are you doing?" Usopp tried to keep his eyes from popping out of his face as the bundle of chains and the single lock that held it in place disappeared from the door handle. The chains and lock were there for a reason, did this guy not understand the function of a lock and chain? It was to clearly keep dangerous things from getting out and this dude-
"There's been a slight change in plan," Law responded as he pushed open the door to the room. He beckoned to his crewmate, "Bepo, carry her."
"Aye aye, captain!" the polar bear acknowledged as he quickly ran into the room. The girl was still right where they had left her on the bed. Delicately picking her up, he swung her over his shoulders gently before leaving the room. As they reappeared, an audible sigh of relief escaped from the sharpshooter when he realized that the dangerous creature he had foreseen inside was nothing but his imagination.
"Who's that?" Robin asked as she glanced curiously towards the limp body hanging over Bepo's shoulder.
"We don't know either," Law replied, triggering a sound of confusion from Usopp. "I'll explain later, first we need to find the keys to these kairouseki handcuffs," he gestured towards the dull green handcuffs around the girl's wrists.
"Keys huh…" the archaeologist crossed her arms, one hand on her chin in thought as they cautiously ascended the steps.
"My guess is that the keys might be in that room," Law gestured in the direction they had come from, across the deck. On the second floor of the cabin that they had hid against earlier, was a room with painted white doors framed in gold and navy blue. "It was labeled as the Tenryuubito's room on the map we found, it would be our best bet."
Usopp clambered up the stairs after them, letting their voices drain out as he was reminded that they were still potentially in danger. They were going to get found by the Tenryuubito and either be killed by a Marine Admiral or maybe even locked up for the rest of their lives in Impel Down. If that was to be their fate he should've just kept quiet about seeing a ship in the first place, starving to death suddenly sounded much friendlier than it should. Various other scenarios continued to play in his head as he stared up at the sky forlornly.
As he was lowering his gaze, a small movement of green caught his eye and his train of pessimistic thoughts screeched to a halt. Wait a minute.
"Guys!" he frantically whispered to the rest who were in the midst of discussing their next plan.
"…ce out all we need is just to-" Law was saying to Bepo and Robin before he was suddenly cut off by Usopp. He glanced back at the panicked Strawhat, "what is it Nose-ya?"
"I swear I saw Zoro in the Tenryuubito's room!" the long-nosed man sputtered out as he pointed wildly towards the extravagant room across the deck. As they all immediately turned their focus towards the room, they could just make out a tuff of green hair bobbing up and down from the window.
"Zoro-ya?" Law repeated incredulously as the figure stood up straight and true enough the Strawhat swordsman's mildly annoyed face appeared just in view through the glass. Zoro was somehow inside the Tenryuubito's room when he shouldn't even be on this ship. Bepo's mouth fell open as did Usopp's.
Meanwhile, said swordsman was busy ransacking the room for a non-existent staircase. There was nothing really promising here, besides the mountains and mountains of money and gold that were stashed away in a corner of the room. He figured that it was lucky Nami didn't come with them, if not she would definitely have a crazy idea to rob this ship. That money hoarding woman probably wouldn't give two damns that this ship was a Tenryuubito's, as long as they could make away with all the treasure on board.
Suddenly a feeling that something small was coming his way cut off his thoughts and the swordsman quickly turned towards the window, one hand on his katana just in case. A small pebble hit the surface of the glass with a light 'clack' before dropping to the floor. It was then followed by several other pebbles when there was no response from within the room. Zoro suspiciously edged towards the window and peered out. Almost immediately his eye found Usopp at the side of the other cabin from across the deck, and he could somewhat see the others hiding out in the shadows as well.
The Strawhat sharpshooter waved excitedly at him and seemed to be on the verge of running out into the open when suddenly there was a sound of a door opening.
"Guh, just filthy," a pompous voice echoed across the deck, and Zoro ducked under the window from sight. He peered out a little from the edge of the window, seeing the Tenryuubito from before leaving the room he had entered earlier.
Usopp, on the other hand, was still thankfully out of sight. It seemed like they had also realized that this wasn't a Marine ship. But it was apparent that they still wanted something from him as the other was now trying to communicate with him through frenzied hand motions and body language, resulting in a weird dance.
Zoro stared at him with a blank face, not getting it. Law was trying very hard to pretend this wasn't happening.
When it seemed like Zoro really wasn't getting the message, Usopp started to mouth stuff along with his hand actions.
Switching between the actions of raising his hands above his eyes, pointing to a pair of handcuffs that were clasped around the wrists of someone Zoro couldn't see, and making a turning motion with his hands gesturing to the aforementioned handcuffs, Usopp mouthed, "look, for, a, key."
Zoro continued to stare and eventually, Usopp resorted to just slowly and exaggeratedly mouthing the word, key, and constantly repeating the turning motion with his hands. A soft feminine chuckle along with a stifled laugh came from behind and Law broke out of his second-hand embarrassment, remembering that there were still two other people with him.
"Nico-ya, Bepo," Law turned to address them quietly. "Take the food and the girl back to the ship first, and start administering first aid."
"Aye aye captain," the polar bear whispered as he adjusted the girl on his shoulder slightly. He then picked up one of the sacks with the other hand and peered over the edge of the ship. There was some silent communication that went back and forth for a moment before both Robin and Bepo had disappeared with a confident leap off the ship.
When Law turned back, Usopp had finally stopped with his embarrassing form of communication and was simply just looking anxiously towards the now empty window. "I think he got the message," the younger man said under his breath as he gave Law a big smile and a thumbs up.
Law couldn't find any comment to give so he just sighed.
They peered out from the side of the wall, watching as the Tenryuubito edged closer and closer back to his room. Thankfully the World Noble had insisted on riding his guard instead of walking back by himself, buying them some time. However, when he started to make his way up the stairs and there was still no sign that Zoro had found what they were looking for, Law decided that it was too risky to stay. They could try other methods of removing her handcuffs later.
"We need to get Zoro-ya out of there now," Law whispered to Usopp, who nodded in response and picked up another small rock on the deck. Trying to be as discreet as possible, the long-nosed man flung it towards the window. It made a soft 'clack' on the glass and Zoro peered out again. Usopp motioned urgently towards the deck and then made a jabbing motion in the direction of the Polar Tang.
"Guh! How insolent, I thought I said I didn't want any of you around when I'm outside," the Tenryuubito's voice boomed over the deck, clearly directed at them. They both froze. "Guard, drag them out!"
Law made a mildly annoyed sound. Guess he had to use his powers. Just as he prepared to open a 'room' and transport them back to the Polar Tang, there was a loud piercing sound of glass breaking from above. It was only for a moment, but Law and Usopp could briefly see the figure of someone in robes jumping out of the window from the side of the ship.
"Guh! Who's there?" the World Noble shouted and a couple of Marines peered out of the dining hall where they were confined, unsure as to whether to leave the room or not. The Tenryuubito turned and glared at them, "don't just stand there you dimwits, make yourself useful! Start moving!"
"Room, shambles," Law said quickly and it was only an instant before both Usopp and him were back on the deck of their own ship. He caught sight of a flash of green entering the submarine, leaving a trail of water in its wake. Looks like Zoro made it back, though jumping out of the window seemed a bit uncalled for. "Hurry up you guys!" Franky hissed from the entrance, holding the door open for them.
The two men quickly ran inside and the submarine door was shut promptly. A low hum emitted throughout the room as the engines started up and the crew got ready to dive under.
"I-I can't believe we actually made it out of there without them noticing until the end," Usopp breathed heavily as they finally had the luxury to relax a little in the submarine's corridor.
"We didn't manage to get the keys to the handcuffs though, that'll be a problem," Law looked slightly annoyed. His powers were totally ineffective against kairouseki, if not they wouldn't even need the keys at all. Perhaps they could try to use machinery to cut through the handcuffs, but the girl would be at risk of losing her hands if so.
"Who says that we didn't get the keys?" a smug voice sounded, and he turned towards a dripping wet Zoro. The Strawhat dug into his robe for a moment, throwing out a fish or two before pulling out a small key that was the same color as the handcuffs. He tossed it over to Law who caught it gingerly. The keys were also made out of kairouseki so he preferred not to touch it but…
"Good work, Zoro-ya," he nodded as he started to walk down the corridor. He had a patient he needed to tend to.
"Who got caught?" the green haired man asked as he sat down and started to wring out his clothes. Usopp was clearly fine and the polar bear was the one that was carrying the handcuffed person earlier, Robin?
"Nobody," Law replied, just as he heard footsteps coming down the corridor. He glanced up, seeing Bepo running down at full speed.
"Captain!" the polar bear mink yelled, "come quick, something weird is happening to the girl!"